PURPOSE
Persons with dementia (pwd), like all persons, have individual preferences regarding
which activities they find to be engaging (Kolanowski, Buettner, Costa, & Litaker,
2001). However, given the pattern of cognitive decline, pwd often enjoy reminiscing
about their childhood and culturally-meaningful activities. Due to the social-distancing
requirements resulting from COVID-19, families and long-term care facilities have
faced new challenges to providing meaningful and engaging social interactions for
pwd. We have developed Appalachian-inspired activities that can be used by individuals,
in groups, in face-to-face interactions and virtually. In this presentation, we
demonstrate the use of these materials.
METHODS
Based on Montessori principles, we developed sets of Appalachian-themed BINGO and
matching activities. In an online survey of 160 adults (M age = 45; range 24-76),
we assessed the degree to which the content is viewed as “Appalachian.” We have
pilot-tested the virtual BINGO among adults without dementia and will begin pilot
work with pwd in this fall.
RESULTS
Based on the survey, we identified sets of musicians, other famous people, and foods
which were identified as being especially Appalachian among a general population.
We also identified sets which were identified as Appalachian by persons who had
spent time in, grew up in, or currently lived in Appalachia. Ongoing and anticipated
field work will examine whether the Appalachian materials result in higher attention
and positive affect than non-Appalachian materials.
DISCUSSION & FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Developing and disseminating culturally-relevant materials which families can use
in person or via technology-mediated visits are an important public health service
for West Virginia. Our work has the potential to improve quality of life for pwd
and their care partners by providing meaningful materials to facilitate positive
social interactions
The ratings from our online survey will inform us on the stimuli that will be used
in a larger study on the efficacy of our materials in comparison to traditional
Montessori-type activities. We plan to look at engagement, attention, and affect
from our participants. Measures of attention and positive affect will be obtained
using the Greater Cincinnati WellBeing Tool (Rentz, 2002).
REFERENCES
- Kolanowski, A. M., Buettner, L., Costa Jr, P. T., & Litaker, M. S. (2001). Capturing interests: Therapeutic recreation activities or persons with dementia. Therapeutic Recreation Journal,5(3), 220.
- Rentz, C. A. (2002). Memories in the Making©: Outcome-based evaluation of an art program for individuals with dementing illnesses. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias®, 17(3),175- 181.